A convergence device typically incorporates a variety of different communication and multimedia data processing functions. One example of such a device is a so-called “smart” telephone, which generally comprises a processor capable of running multimedia application programs or other programs associated with data communication functions, as well as programs associated with cellular voice call communication functions. A given smart telephone may be configured, by way of example, to allow a user to retrieve e-mail, browse the Internet, manage personal information, and utilize text messaging, while also providing support for traditional cellular telephone voice calls.
A more particular example of a convergence device of this type is a wireless mobile unit of a recently-developed high-speed CDMA communication system such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) system, described in 3GPP Technical Specifications TS 25.1xx, which are incorporated by reference herein. The convergence device may include, in addition to or in place of cellular communication functionality, wireless networking functionality in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standards, which are incorporated by reference herein, or other suitable wireless networking standards.
Convergence devices often require execution of a number of different types of code, including digital signal processor (DSP) code associated with signal processing operations as well as high-level program application code written in Java or another object-oriented programming language.
Multithreaded processors particularly well-suited for use in convergence devices are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/269,372, filed Oct. 11, 2002 and entitled “Multithreaded Processor With Efficient Processing For Convergence Device Applications,” which is commonly assigned herewith and incorporated by reference herein. An illustrative embodiment of a multithreaded processor as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/269,372 is capable of executing RISC-based control code, DSP code, Java code and network processing code. This processor includes a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) vector unit, a reduction unit, and long instruction word (LIW) compounded instruction execution.
Convergence devices are typically configured to operate on battery power. It is usually desirable in such devices to maintain a certain minimum voice call communication capability as the battery capacity decreases. Generally, processing associated with data communication functions, such as multimedia application processing, requires significantly more computational capacity, and thus expends more battery power, than cellular voice call communication.
Unfortunately, conventional power conservation techniques are not designed to accommodate the particular configuration and functionality of convergence devices, and thus fail to provide optimal performance in such devices. Accordingly, a need exists for improved power conservation techniques for use in convergence devices.